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June 2, 2017

Papa Murphy's Pizza

Papa Murphy's Pizza, a well-established take-n-bake pizza franchise on the mainland, has finally hit the shores of Hawaii! The first location in Hawaii recently debuted at Windward City Shopping Center in Kaneohe.

Honestly, I had never heard of Papa Murphy's until I received the flyer in the mail, and when I learned that it was a take-n-bake concept, I was puzzled. Why would anyone want to buy a take-n-bake pizza since you have to bake it yourself at home? Wouldn't you rather just get it delivered by a pizza delivery company or buy a frozen pizza at the supermarket for 1/3 the price?

I wasn't a believer, until I actually tried it.

At Papa Murphy's, everything is fresh - from the dough that is made from scratch daily, to the 100% whole milk mozzarella cheese that is grated in-house, to the veggies that are hand sliced in-house as well. There are no freezers at Papa Murphy's, because everything is fresh!

As far as the pizza goes (which is the main attraction here), there are three sizes to choose from, and the sizes are visible on the wall so you have an idea of how big each size is. There are five different doughs - thin, original, pan, stuffed, and gluten free.

You can create your own pizza, or choose one of their signature or gourmet recipes.

After perusing the menu and options, I decided to split a large pizza in half in order to try the "Cowboy" and "Herb Chicken Mediterranean" on their thin crust.

Each pizza ordered is made from scratch from the bottom up. The dough (which is made from scratch daily) is already prepped on their special Bake-and-Serve tray.

You get to watch your pizza being assembled right before your eyes.

First the sauce....

then the toppings. If you want more of this, or not so much of that, just speak up and they will make it to your liking.

Pizzas are carefully wrapped in plastic wrap with the baking instructions enclosed. Be sure to read the instructions when you get home because there are certain things you need to do such as bake or refrigerate within 60 minutes of purchase.

Since I have two little ones at home, I also took home a couple of Mini Murph Make 'N' Bake Pizza Kits.

Since the little ones were hungry, we made their pizzas first. My son had a blast making his own pizza! I'll admit - I was a little envious that he got to assemble his own pizza...

Baking is super easy - 10 minutes at 425 degrees in the special Bake-and-Serve tray that the pizza comes on. It takes longer to pre-heat the oven than to bake the pizza.

In his own words, "it was deeeeelicious!!" I sampled a slice and I can see why he liked it so much.

After the littles were taken care of, it was time to bake the big pizza.

The process is so simple - just unwrap and place in the pre-heated oven in the Bake-n-Serve tray that the pizza comes on. No additional bakeware needed!

In less than 15 minutes (for most pizzas), the pizza is ready!

The pizzas are amazingly good, for several reasons. First of all, you get to eat it in the comforts of your own home, fresh out of the oven. It's hot and the cheese is gooey. Secondly, it's a pizza made with fresh ingredients, and you can really taste the difference.

But wait, there's more.

Cinnamon Wheel $7

Papa Murphy's Cinnamon Wheel makes for a great dessert, or even breakfast the next day (since you have up to 24 hours to bake it if you keep it unbaked in the refrigerator overnight). My picky toddlers ate this up in no time, with the help of mom and dad of course! [Be sure to keep an eye on this one when it's baking in the oven. I was busy doing other things and before I knew it, there was smoke coming out of my oven due to sugary topping that dripped to the bottom of my oven.]

The chocolate chip cookie dough is also a good dessert option that you can bake off all at once, or in spurts like how I did. There's nothing better than warm, chewy chocolate chip cookies straight out of the oven!

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with Papa Murphy's. I like that they use minimal packaging with their pizzas (no cardboard boxes except for the Mini Murph kits) and their special Bake-and-Serve tray that each pizza comes on is a savior for people like myself who do not like to wash baking pans. We will definitely be regular customers!

There should be a few more Papa Murphy's Pizza locations popping up on Oahu. Maybe there will be one opening soon near you!

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